Timeless Torah

This week’s Torah portion begins with a description of the ceremony associated with the first-fruit offering. An accompanying prayer thanking G-d for His beneficence ran like this: “An Aramite destroyed my father, and he went down into Egypt ... few in number ... and the L-rd brought us out ... into this land flowing with milk and honey. And now behold, I have brought the first fruit of the land which you have given me…”
The phrase “an Aramite” is a reference to Lavan, the father-in-law of Jacob, who wished to destroy the entire family. Thus, the one bringing the first fruits acknowledged G-d’s deliverance, once at the hands of Lavan and again by the Egyptians, and of His grace in giving the Jewish nation a land, “Flowing with milk and honey.”
A question often asked is why are only these two instances of G-d’s merciful deliverance cited? Surely there were many other miracles - the parting of the Red Sea, the Manna from heaven, the victorious battles against the Amalekites, and the giants - to name just a few.
The solution is to be found in the fact that even after the Israelites had entered, conquered, and allocated the land, the obligation to bring the first fruits was still not mandatory. According to the Rabbis, this law only took effect after all the Jews had settled the land. From this we see that the commandment was not simply an offering of thanks for G-d’s gift of the land, but primarily for having settled in it as a permanent home. Only then could the farmer rejoice with an easy mind and bring his offering to the Temple.
In order to emphasize this point, only these two specific examples were chosen. The other miracles had taken place while the Jews were wandering in the desert, a situation which, even in the best of times, is fraught with danger. With no shelter or ready supply of food, they knew survival meant relying on G-d's miraculous intervention. But in these two cases, Jacob had settled with his father-in-law, and which grandfather would choose to destroy his own family? Jews had settled in Egypt under the protection of Joseph their brother, the Viceroy himself, and which nation would turn against the family that had saved them during the years of famine? The Jews had imagined themselves immune from danger and finally established.
But permanency and stability can only come through the grace of G-d. Family and host nations may not only forget to protect you, they may turn against you themselves. Yet our relationship with G-d is different. For we are more than His nation or His family - we are ONE.